The Witching Hour

As usual the situation in Old Blighty is extremely confused but it it appears there are certain developments worthy of report.

First of all the EU has agreed to accept Johnson’s unsigned official request for an extension and ignore his passionately signed “I didn’t really mean it letter”, so England has until the end of January to get its act together. I don’t imagine we’ll actually be lucky enough for Boris to crawl off and die in a ditch.

What is that act? Funny you should ask.

The situation now conforms with the conditions Jeremy Corbin set in order for Labour to agree to Snap Elections which is to say that a crash ‘No Deal’ Brexit on Halloween is definitively ruled out. Negotiations are under way to set a date, but the calendar dictates that it must be sometime between Thanksgiving and ekstmas (Britain doesn’t celebrate Thanksgiving on the same schedule we do). Interestingly enough this is the same time frame the House Impeachment vote is planned to take place though with late breaking new crimes and all it might slip a bit.

Speculation is that Labour is reluctant to stand because they’re not polling very well at the moment. They are calling for a Parliamentary vote on a Second Brexit Referendum which is not at all the same thing as a Second Brexit Referendum which the Liberal Democrats (neither very liberal except Neo nor democratic except how they roll over for Conservatives) have made their signature issue in hopes of capturing the Remain vote. The existential worry of Labour is that the Lib Dems and Tory Brexit Rebels will form a coallation government behind which the Brexit Rebels will boot Johnson and his merry band of Brexiteers, re-organize the Conservatives, and persue the grinding austerity policies the very, very rich use to beat down the poor.

Scotland has always wanted to leave the UK (I mean Sacking of Berwick 1296 always) and are likely to attempt it, as are the re-organized Tories to offer it as a bribe both for Parliamentary support and because if successful it permanently rips out about a third of Labours heartland. The Democratic Unionists will not settle for any border between Northern Ireland and the UK and Ireland will not accept any border between itself and Norther Ireland. It’s a puzzle that hasn’t changed and won’t until the DUPs votes no longer become relevant at which point, “Hello border with Northern Ireland.”

Nobody else counts.

The date quibbling is because some dates (December 9th) make bringing back Johnson’s Plan impossible, oddly enough December 12th leaves an opening. Schools break for the Holidays on the 12th which makes hunting down Labour votes more difficult. None of the other Parties care so it looks like the 12th it is.